I feel compelled to pause for a little bit and address something important. Thank you for bearing with me while I try and get this out :)
I lead a very charmed life. Jan Michael and I love each other and are thankful to be married to one other. We have the opportunity to do a great many fun, fun things - lots of those things are small, but we're also able to take part in a hefty dose of the big things, too. I am able to live out my dream job, that of a happy housewife, because my husband works very hard to make it so. There are countless happy moments in our little life together; I'm grateful and so is he.
There's a lesson, though, that I need to learn. I know it well enough in my head but my heart needs to understand it better so that I can live it out. These wonderful, beautiful things that we enjoy so much are going to eventually pass away. There will be a time when our bodies aren't strong enough to hike to waterfalls and canoe down rivers. It's entirely possible that before our legs or eyes begin to fail, we'll find ourselves in situations that don't allow for extra luxuries like screeching around on rollercoasters. And, though I don't like to think about it, it's a certainty that one day one of us is going to be without the other. It's just the nature of this life and there isn't any way of getting around it. And so comes the lesson...
I've been reading some notes from one of our church conventions about rejoicing. Phillipians 4:4 tells us to
Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. This is what God wants for us, to be able to rejoice
always, no matter our situation or circumstance. Everyone in life has dark, valley experiences, ones that we'd never choose and want desperately to escape - Jan Michael and I are included in that; I just choose not to share them on the blog - and yet, in spite of it all, God wants us to rejoice and be thankful in all things. And the key to it is rejoicing
in the Lord. What God gives us through Jesus will never, ever pass away, and is steadfast and true even when our natural lives are all topsy-turvy or full of pain and sorrow. Or pleasant and easy, for that matter. The Bible tells us not to love the things of the world, and it isn't because God wants to make things difficult for us. It's because everything in the world is temporary, and the things we'll leave behind when we pass into eternity can't possibly give us everlasting joy. God wants to provide us with bread for our souls that will always be satisfying, so that we never, ever hunger or thirst, and He's already done it through Jesus. He loves us and wants us to invest in Heavenly things so that we can know eternal rejoicing.
I would hate for anyone to look at our blog and see the small glimpse I share of our natural lives, and to be envious or sad or discouraged because maybe what we seem to have is far better than what someone else could ever experience. I want anyone who pops into our small corner to know that there is life far greater than what is offered on this earth, and that we are seeking it, in our very feeble strength, through our individual relationships with God and Jesus. I want that for you, too. And most importantly, so does He.
